Cost of Living inBaghdad, Iraq
Image credit: Original uploader was Zzztriple2000 at en.wikipedia
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Iraq: $12,725/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 66% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Income Category
Happiness
5.2 / 10
#90 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Monthly Costs
Rent
Food
Transport
Utilities
Education
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Iraq; Baghdad-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, but difficult in practice
hardInstruction
Arabic / Kurdish
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Iraq's public-school path is highly situational and not generally the default option for expat families seeking stability and broad support.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident enrollment may be possible, but the local-language environment and uneven system conditions make the public route difficult for most expat families.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically addressedIraq requires compulsory education but does not have a specific homeschooling framework. The ongoing security situation and limited institutional capacity mean enforcement is inconsistent. Not a practical destination for worldschooling families.
Homeschool legality in Iraq — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Baghdad, Iraq.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$500-$700
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$900-$1,200
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Baghdad: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Airport
International airport
Baghdad International remains the country’s main long-haul air gateway and the capital’s practical aviation link.
Urban transit
Bus and taxi mix
Baghdad mobility is still primarily road-based, with buses present but without the kind of high-capacity rail backbone seen in stronger transit capitals.
Rideshare
Taxi-first, limited app coverage
Families should expect taxis and locally arranged rides to matter more than deep app-hailed network coverage.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Iraq.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, hospital capacity looks tighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs.
Private care
MixedA large tracked hospital and clinic network help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
64/100
2023
Physicians
1.02/1k
2022
Hospital beds
1.06/1k
2018
Out of pocket
54%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
72.4 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
66/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
12.5/1k
2024
International patient readiness
LimitedThere is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Iraq yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Baghdad, Iraq · Source: GDP-derived estimate (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Baghdad compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.3x further in Baghdad than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
Is Baghdad cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Baghdad is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 66% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Baghdad.
How does rent in Baghdad compare with New York City?
Rent in Baghdad is about 90% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City).
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Baghdad?
Groceries in Baghdad are about 70% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 68% cheaper than the same benchmark.
About Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and the largest city in the country, with about 7.2 million residents along the Tigris in central Mesopotamia. The city anchors Iraqi government, banking, and oil-sector headquarters, and relocation is dominated almost entirely by diplomatic, development, security, and energy-sector assignments rather than independent moves. The International Zone, formerly the Green Zone, and select areas of Karrada hold most expat housing, with movement, working hours, and daily routines shaped extensively by security protocols that vary by employer. The hot desert climate brings summer temperatures regularly exceeding 45 degrees Celsius with mild winters, water and power reliability remain inconsistent, and Arabic fluency is effectively required for any work outside narrow international compounds.
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